Steve Gouves dies a billionaire, with a fortune of $ 7 billion, at the age of 56 from pancreatic cancer, and here are some of his last words: In other eyes, my life is the essence of success, but aside from work, I have a little joy, and in the end wealth is just a fact of life to which I am accustomed. At this moment, lying on the bed, sick and remembering all my life, I realize that all my recognition and wealth that I have is meaningless in the face of imminent death. You can hire someone to…
The Champions League of Comeback Kings
It is good to be an underdog. This Champions League quarter finals has made lots of losses for the bet masters. Few, if any, had hopes in Liverpool making it past Barcelona. It did. The naysayers were at it again. An English Team had no chance against Ajax. It did it. Some disclosure. I am a football fan. I enjoy a game of football. I am not a fanatic. I don’t adore individual football players. The intention of football is not about individual players. It is about a team. So, I always throw my moods and feelings through the roof,…
The cost of parenting
It is too expensive to produce. Kampala has finally made me stop my dream of having three children. Two are already too many. This morning, James a 30-year-old asked me: “Mustapha, I need advice. At day-care they are asking for Ugx. 1,500,000 per month to look after my 2-year-old baby. I cannot afford it.” That baby is too young. Why not let him be with the mother? I asked. To which James replied that the mother left us. “She woke up one day and said, I am going back to school. Your child is here. You are not yet ready…
Football and the power of big dreams
Barcelona Football Club could not score a goal at Liverpool’s Anfield Studium. With a three-nil advantage, Barcelona came to the match just to score one goal. The target was set too low. The mindset of Barcelona players was to find that one goal in 90 minutes. That was a too low standard. However, Liverpool went into the game with a #winningmindset. To score 4 goals. One goal at a time. The first leg On 1st May 2019, Liverpool visited Barcelona’s Camp Nou. That night, Messi, their star player produced a brace exposing Liverpool team. The score was so bad that…
Death by poor governance, part 1
I used to sit on the Board of a certain institution which I am not at liberty to disclose for confidentiality reasons. I served on the board for three years to April 2015. Looking back, this was a classic dysfunctional board as it was more about debate, brainstorming and figure pointing at the executive and less of decision making. It was normal practice for members to receive board papers on the same day of arriving at the meeting, and where board-papers had been disseminated in time, members read the board briefs as the meeting progressed. Seemingly easy decisions took time…
What is your aspiration?
What is your ambition or aspiration or winning vision? The red triangle In the red triangle, you have a vision that defines your desired future aligned to your core ideology. Any one can have a vision. However, few achieve them. One of the reasons why leadership with a vision is failing is the lack of competitive dimension in a vision. ‘Vision’ is like a political statement. Leaders focus is on something that is very big as opposed from something that is a critical milestone to achieve. So, people come everyday looking at a ‘vision’ that is too abstract. Take a…
